Hadrian’s Wall, Part I: The Romans in Britain and the Imperial Frontier

Join Emily and Cam as they discuss the Romans in Britain from the time of Caesar to the emperor Hadrian, and then talk about Hadrian’s monumental wall—what it was, how it was built, what it was for, and why some bits of it still survive today.

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Links

1. David Keys, “Roman Invasion Beach Found in Kent”, The Independent (Friday October 3, 2008).

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00:11 - Introduction

01:58 - The Romans in Britain, from Caesar to Hadrian

1. 02:22 - Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul and Britain, and their aftermath
2. 03:35 - Claudius “defeats” Caratacus and conquers southern England
3. 13:37 - Boudicca’s Rebellion
4. 18:54 - Vespasian and the governorship of Agricola
5. 22:05 - Hadrian visits the frontier

23:31 - Building Hadrian’s Wall

1. 23:25 - The route: from Segedunum to Maia
2. 25:41 - The wall and its features: stone, turf, milecastles, turrets, and outworks
3. 28:57 - Why build part in stone and part in turf?
4. 29:28 - The legions and the process of building the wall
5. 32:25 - Changing plans: wall gauges, wall forts, and turf replaced by stone

37:56 - The Purpose of Hadrian’s Wall

1. 38:25 - Some puzzling features of Rome’s northern frontier
2. 39:07 - A zone of transition: the Roman Empire and British social structures
3. 44:22 - The Romans, the Wall, and the transformation of Britain

46:24 - The Wall after Hadrian

1. 46:42 - The Wall from Antoninus Pius to Septimius Severus
2. 49:04 - The Wall in the time of Bede
3. 51:17 - The 17th and 18th centuries: Hadrian’s Wall and the Military Road
4. 53:19 - John Clayton
5. 54:39 - The National Trust and UNESCO

55:20 - Wrap-up